Lover's Desire
by SecretDasiy
Summary: Amber recently moved to Dullsville to find who her mother is and why she walked out on her and her dad. She meets Raven and Alexander and the rest of the gang. But what happens when she meets Claude and he says he erased her memory? Who is her mother and what do the Madison's have to do with it? I don't own Vampire Kisses or the characters except my OC's.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: New Soul to Town

It was after midnight that I found myself walking through the cemetery. The night was a cold one, as it was almost winter. I pulled my jacket around me tighter as I walked along the path. I could see graves for miles, both recent and ancient. The sight calmed me down a bit, the anger seeping out of me like air from a balloon.

Glancing behind me, I sighed with relief. He didn't follow.

I heard laughter in the distance. This made me pause, wondering if I was hearing spirits. I quietly continued down the path. It might be a security guard or some hooligans spray painting some graves. What I saw was quite surprising.

Among the graves, there were several lit candles and a picnic basket spread out on a blanket. There was a couple cozying up under a blanket. I was about to turn around and start heading back when the guy looked up.

"Looks like there is another night owl in this town." He said in a deep, husky voice. The girl looked up as he said this. Her irritated expression quickly changed as she glanced over my clothes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I didn't think anyone would be here at this time of night." I awkwardly smiled. "I'm just going to go now. Have a nice night."

I quickly turned and walked several steps when the girl told me to wait. She caught my arm before I could start to run in embarrassment.

"You don't have to go. Are you new to town?" She asked. I was about to say it was none of her business when I saw her shirt. It was a My Chemical Romance t-shirt. An exact replica of the one that I had on under my jacket. Actually, her whole outfit reminded me of the ones I usually wore.

Remembering she had asked me a question, I quickly averted my eyes from her shoes to look at her face. "Yeah. Just moved here yesterday."

"I'm Raven. This is Alexander. Would you like to stay for a little while? We have plenty of food."

"I really wouldn't want to ruin your date. Besides, I should really start heading back. School is only a few hours away and I need to think of a way to ditch."

"Are you attending the high school?" Alexander eyed me, a worried expression on his face. No doubt it was because of my height. I was five foot two, way shorter than any other girl around my age.

"I'm a senior."

Alexander quickly relaxed. Raven, on the other hand, grinned. "Me too! Finally there's someone who has good sense in fashion. I'm tired of being the only Goth in that school."

This alarmed me. I came from a big city, so there were many others who shared the same interest as I did. Moving to this dull little town may have been a mistake. But it wasn't my choice. My father wanted to move to this town because some family members from my mother's side lived here. He wanted answers why she left him with a six month old daughter to take care of all on his own. It took him along time to find her maiden name and look into her family history. They married as strangers, a drunken night in Las Vegas. When she found out she was pregnant with me, she wanted an abortion. But my father convinced her to keep me and try to be a family. She agreed, but in the end, she bailed.

So while my father will be trying to find her brother, I'll be wasting away in a place that will be my prison for the next year or so until I figure out what college to attend.

A place that only had one person I could share interests with.

"Are you in college Alexander?" I asked curiously. Surely he was someone I could befriend as well.

"Oh no. I'm homeschooled. My family and I moved here from Romania quite some time ago. I'm a hardcore night owl. Sleep when the sun goes up until the sun goes down. So it's better if I didn't go to public school. Although, it would be worth to go so I could see my darling beautiful girlfriend every day."

"You guys are so adorable together. If only I had someone in my life like that." I admit I was a bit jealous. I've only had a couple of boyfriends here and there, none of them serious. Somewhere I realized along the way that I purposely never got close to them. I didn't want to end up like my dad.

"Aw, thanks. I'm sure your gothic knight will show up eventually…" Raven trailed off, a loss for words. I realized I never gave my name.

"Oh, sorry. I'm Amber. Probably should've said that sooner." Glancing at my watch, I realized that I should start heading back home. My dad was probably waiting with several police cars waiting to take me to the station for missing curfew. "It was nice meeting you both. I'll see you at school tomorrow Raven. I'll probably see you around too Alexander. But I should probably get home. My dad will go ballistic."

After saying our good-byes, I quickly retraced my steps. A few turns here, a few turns there. I almost face planted the ground by tripping over a rock. The house was located about two blocks over. I took the back way, hoping that no one mistook me for a prowler. I would've taken the main roads, but I didn't want to risk being caught by the police.

The single-story came into view. The back porch light was on, illuminating the backyard. The kitchen light was also on, meaning only one thing. He was waiting for me.

I quickly hopped over the fence and ran to the sliding glass door. Opening it quietly, I tip-toed into the house and looked left and right. No one in sight. After locking the door, I found my way to my room. Inside, my father was waiting.

Barely in his forties, he was quite the looker. Every woman he met swooned over him but quickly lost interest once they found out he had a teenage daughter. He didn't say it, but I could sometimes tell that he regretted meeting my mom and having me. Without me, he could have all the women he ever wanted. He didn't have worry about my well-being all the time. He could focus on himself more. I was just a burden to him. If I ever met the woman who birthed me, I would strangle her neck for making him go through this alone.

Clearing his throat, he caught my attention. He seemed angry and relieved at the same time. "Darling, you had me worried sick. I didn't expect you to run out of the house so soon. I know you don't want to be here, but I need to know what happened to your mom. If she's okay or if she's… not. I just need you to be patient. Okay?"

"Why?" I suddenly wanted to scream. "As soon as you find out if she's living, you're just going to ship me off to live with her so you can live your own life. That's why you want to find her so bad, right? So you can go have the life you always wanted. Without a daughter to care for."

A pained expression crossed his face. "Sweetie… is that what you truly think? That I don't want you anymore? If I never wanted you, I wouldn't have pleaded with your mom to have you. I wanted to be a father." He sat on the bed suddenly, as if he was pushed. He patted the spot next to him. I sat and he pulled me into his arms and pulled my head under his chin. "The only reason why I want to find your mother is for you. I want you to know her at least for once in your life. Or if she's not here, then at least spend some time with her side of the family. I don't want you regretting not knowing. I know how that path plays out. But never think that I don't love you or want you. That's not true. You're my daughter. I love you and I always will."

I quickly brushed away a tear before he noticed. The last thing I wanted was for him to feel even sadder. "I'm sorry for running out like that. I went to the cemetery to clear my head."

"It's okay just don't do that again. At least without taking your cell. Did you meet any vampires lurking around?" He asked jokingly.

"No. But I did meet some really cool people who could potentially be good friends. Although if they were vampires, I would've made them turn me so I wouldn't have to go to school."

"Speaking of which, time for bed. You are not ditching the first day. I'll be dropping you off at sevenish and picking you up around threeish. In between that time I'll be looking for the Madison family." He got up from the bed and gave me a peck on the forehead. "Good night Amber."

"Good night."

The next morning I dragged myself from my cozy bed and into the shower. I lathered myself up in the cherry blossom body wash and toweled dried my hair. I picked out a fiery red corset with a black tutu. I grabbed my scuffed combat boots and laced them over the striped stockings. Downstairs, breakfast was laid out on the dining table, my dad already biting into his piece of toast.

Shoving the scrambled eggs into my mouth, I reached into my backpack to memorize the slip of paper that held my classes.

First Period: English. Second Period: Calculus. Third Period: PE. Fourth Period: Health. Then it was lunch. After that I had free periods. Which means I could come home early.

Thirty minutes later, I arrived at the school gates. Looking around, I saw that Raven was right. There were no goths that I could see. There were clones of Barbie and Ken dolls. None of them seemed original in the least.

I spotted Raven in the parking lot, dragging herself from a beat up old truck. Next to her, a girl was happily jumping up and down. She had red hair and looked plain in a Pokka dot red dress and converse that matched.

Raven waved me over excitedly and introduced me to her friend. "This is Becky. Becky, this is the girl I was telling you about."

"What girl? I don't remember you saying anything about a girl."

"That's because you were so focused on Matt that you weren't listening to me…again." Raven seemed a bit annoyed as she mentioned this. I assumed this Matt person was Becky's boyfriend and she was obsessed with the relationship. Sounded like a former best friend I used to know.

"Hi. I'm Amber. I just moved here from California. I ran into Raven at the cemetery last night while she and Alexander were on a date. We were practically wearing the same outfit."

Hearing this, Becky finally noticed my outfit. Her face dropped a bit as she saw that it resembled what Raven wore. She looked threatened. "So you're a goth? Raven and you must have a lot in common."

"Perhaps. We really didn't say much to each other last night. I guess we have to get to know each other better over our breaks." I smiled, trying to get her to feel less threatened. It wasn't like I was going to steal her best friend away.

"So what made you move from an awesome place like Cali?" Raven asked.

"Well it's kinda complicated. My mom ran out on us when I was only six months old, leaving my dad to take care of me. He wanted to know why she left him and her daughter so he's been trying to find information on her whereabouts for years. But so far he was only able to find that she had a brother and he lived in this town. After looking into the school here, he decided to move us here. So that I could connect with her side of the family."

They both gasped in surprise. Not knowing what else to say, I shrugged and decided to change topics.

But a male voice interrupted what I was about to say.

"Well. If it isn't Raven. It sure has been awhile since we last saw each other, hasn't it?"

I glanced behind me to find a blonde haired guy that wore a black shirt and matching skinny jeans. He had a lip piercing and wore studs in his ears. His face reminded me of Alexander's. And someone else. Someone I couldn't place.

"Claude! What the hell are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be back in Romania?" Raven was practically yelling as she hissed at the guy.

Claude laughed. "I came to visit my dear cousin. What's so wrong with that? Besides. We left off on some much unfinished business, you and I. you-!" Claude stopped suddenly as he focused on me. He looked surprised and shocked. "Amber? What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, but have we met before?" I was confused. I never met this guy in my entire life. Surely I would remember if I had.

"Do you know him?" Raven looked upset and confused as I was.

I shook my head and Claude grabbed my arm. "You don't remember me? You don't remember that night at the club?"

I tried braking my arm free from his grasp. But he was just too strong. "Look I don't know you. I don't remember anything about a club. I just moved here so how could I?"

"Let go of her arm Claude. She doesn't know you. You're probably mistaking her for another girl who has the same name as she does." Raven was about to slap him when he let go. He shook his head sadly.

"Of course you wouldn't remember. I made you forget."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: Confusion

Claude's words echoed in my mind throughout the day. His words, his tone, and his face were all that I could focus on. I barely remembered what happened afterward. I supposedly fainted and had to spend most of first period at the nurse's office. Raven accompanied me, much to Becky's protests.

While I was late for first period, I made it on time to my other classes. Everyone stared and gaped. One of the teachers kept calling me Raven by accident, because we look so much alike. When Health class rolled around, both the students and the teacher were confused as to why there were two of us. Until the teacher came to realize that I wasn't her long lost twin but actually the new student. Thankfully, neither Raven nor I found it annoying, but actually quite hilarious.

Speaking of Raven, she gave me worried glances most of the day. She kept asking about how I knew Claude, or if I remembered anything about him. She finally started believing me after the billionth time I said no. She offered to ditch her classes to show me around town after lunch, seeing as how I only had four classes. That only made Becky angrier.

I took her up on her offer and we were now currently on our way to my house. Since both of her parents were on their day off, we decided that my house would be the safest.

We were coming up the driveway when I noticed that Dad's car was in the driveway. I wonder if he found any news on my mom's family.

In the kitchen, he was on the phone. He sounded enthusiastic to whomever he was talking to. "Well if it's possible I would like to schedule a time and place to meet. I'm sure Amber will be thrilled." He scribbled something down on the notepad on the counter. He said his goodbyes and turned to me with a massive grin.

"Guess who I just finished talking to on the phone? The Madison's would like to meet with us later today. They were-!" He noticed that Raven was there. "Oh hello. My, you look just like Amber here. I thought for a moment I was seeing double."

"Hi, I'm Raven. Were you speaking to Sarah and Paul Madison by any chance?" She sounded confused.

"Actually I was. Do you know them by any chance?"

"I should hope so. They're my parents." She went on to crack some joke but no one laughed. We both stared at her in silence. "Is something the matter?"

My father answered first. "Oh no there is nothing wrong. Nothing at all. The Madison's are Amber's relatives. I'm just surprised to be meeting you this early is all. I'm sure Amber is in shock too. I mean who knew you too would be cousins? And to be almost identical as well."

"So let me get this straight. Your mom is …" Raven trailed off, deep in thought. I could tell she was trying to wrap it around her head. I had trouble believing it myself.

"My mom's name is Libby. I already told you she abandoned us when I was a young kid. Not even a year old yet."

"But Aunt Libby isn't the kind of person to do those things."

"Maybe not now. But she was then. People can change." I dug around in my wallet, pulling out a folded photo of the woman. I handed it to Raven and she stared at the photo intensely.

"This is definitely Aunt Libby. But her expression is really…" She trailed off.

"Tormented." I finished for her. "Miserable. Depressed."

My dad carefully took the photo from her hands. He smiled faintly at the distant memories that the photo held. "Libby was free-spirited and kind. She never wanted to be married in the first place. Heck, I didn't either. But as soon as she found out she was pregnant from that one drunken night, I was the happiest man alive. But she wasn't. First, she was married to a man she didn't even love. Then it turns out she had a baby on the way. I didn't think she would run out on us like she did."

There it was again. The sadness in his voice whenever he talked about Libby. Whenever I heard it, I wanted to find the woman and beat some sense into her. I mean sure, I understand she wasn't happy with the way life threw up on her. But hell, deal with the consequences. Or at least take proper precautions beforehand.

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket. There was a message from an unknown number. I ignored it, thinking it was spam. This was not the right time for that kind of crap.

"Well then, this has been fun. But Raven promised me a tour around town. Right Raven?" I jabbed her with my elbow softly, raising my eyebrows desperately.

She caught my drift. "Oh yes. I totally forgot. We'll hit all the good spots before school gets out. That way there are no lines. We better hurry!" She linked her arm though mine and pulled me towards the door. "Don't worry about taking her to my parents, I'll do that. Bye."

We left the house, my dad not even bothering to say anything. He was still caught up in his memories. He didn't even noticed when I took back the photo he left on the table to stare at.

"So where to first?" I asked her brightly.

"My parents."

"Can't we do that later? Besides, wouldn't they be upset that you ditched your last few classes?"

"It's not like they'll be surprised. I ditch all the time." She smiled, but it seemed a bit forced. "Any way, it seems like we're cousins. In a way, that explains a lot. How we look alike for instance. It wasn't just that we had the same kind of fashion sense, which is super awesome by the way. But we literally look alike. Our skin tone, our hair, and our faces. We have part of the same genetics running through our veins."

I thought about this as we walked through the neighborhood. In a way, I was gaining relatives that I could spend time with. That is, if they wanted to spend time with me.

Raven stopped in front of a two story house. It looked modern and ordinary. There were two cars in the driveway, one white and one royal blue. As we walked up the steps towards the front door, I could hear voices coming from inside. They sounded like they were in a heated argument. She frowned as she took her house key and turned it in the lock. The voices, one belonged to a woman and one to a man, grew louder.

She led the way into the kitchen, where everything was a ghastly white. The walls were white while the cabinets were a dark mahogany. At the table, there was the source of the voices. Raven motioned to me to stay behind so that they wouldn't see me just yet. She coughed quite loudly to capture their attention.

They both jumped a bit at the unexpected noise. They looked relieved to see their daughter but they quickly began to question her as they realized that she was still supposed to be in class.

"I was sick?" She said in response to their questions.

The woman spoke up. "Honestly, Raven, you could've just had the nurse call us and we would have picked you up. We were thinking about picking you and your brother home early to discuss something that came up anyway."

"What about?" She feigned curiosity.

Her father spoke up. "Well, apparently, your Aunt Libby has a daughter around your age that she abandoned when the girl was only a few months old. Her father has been looking everywhere for her and any relatives that she may have. When he found that there was indeed relatives, he packed up and moved them both here. We're supposed to be meeting them some time later today."

The woman added, "We don't really know how to handle the situation properly. We've left Libby several messages about this and she hasn't returned our calls."

I felt like running. The insides of my stomach were twisting and knotting in anticipation and fear. They seemed nice and genuinely concerned about me and the whole situation.

Before I knew it, Raven grabbed onto my wrist to drag me into the kitchen. "I hope you don't mind, I brought a friend over. She's new to town and I was going to give her a tour in a bit."

Both of her parents smiled, but the smiled dropped a bit when they realized there were two goth-girls standing in front of them instead of the usual one. They probably pictured me as a clone of everyone else here. "Well it seems that you found someone you can find a few common interests with. Hello dear, it's a pleasure to meet you." The woman held out her hand and I grasped it firmly with mine.

"The pleasure is mine." There was a hint of nervousness in my tone and I hoped that no one noticed. The Madison's looked like any other couple. They seemed very ordinary to say the least.

"It seems today we're destined to meet newcomers in this town. It's been ages since a new family arrived here. What do you know? There's two new families for this town to go gaga over." Paul Madison laughed a little, not quite putting two together just yet. I wonder how long it would take for them to discover that we were one in the same.

Raven seemed to laugh at this as well. She seemed to be enjoying the fact that they didn't figure it out yet. "When were we planning on meeting her?"

"Sometime around five at Hasty's."

"What if you meet her earlier? Wouldn't that be more convenient?"

"It would give us more time to figure out a game plan. We never thought that Libby would be capable of something like this. I don't want the poor girl thinking we would be the same and abandon her. Family sticks together, right?"

"Oh! I'm so glad you said that!" Raven exclaimed. She made a drum roll sound with her hands while saying, "I would like to introduce you to Amber Severson. I met her last night while I was on a date with Alexander. Who knew that I would be making friends with my every own cousin?"

Sarah and Paul Madison simply stared at me. Various emotions crossed their faces. Mostly shock. Yet they recovered quickly. They came at me with open arms and squeezed me tightly. Questions were fired at me left and right.

Of course, I answered them. But then it turned awkward. We didn't really know what to talk about and in the end I decided to show them the same picture that I showed to Raven. If they had any doubts on if my story checked out, they were soon cast off as they studied the picture.

"Well, that certainly is Libby. She was sure such a handful in those days. She was an extreme hippy I'd say. Of course, some would say she hasn't changed a bit." Paul quietly said, deep in thought.

So my mother was a hippie. That might've explained her actions but then again, there was no excuse for what she put us through.

My cell vibrated in my pocket again. Looking at it, I realized it was the same unknown number from last time. It didn't seem like spam, so I opened up the messages and saw that they were from Claude.

The messages read:

 _Hey. I know you won't remember this, but you gave me your number a few months ago. I'm just going to say this and I know it will only confuse you more, but I'm sorry. For everything that you don't remember. For everything you might remember from that short time that we spent together._

 _You should probably disregard that last message. How 'bout we grab some coffee later? Perhaps maybe a bite to eat? I want to apologize for my actions this morning. For making you faint from my extreme hotness. So text me back a time and place. Please. –Claude_

After reading the two messages, it left me confused. Nothing he wrote made any sense. It seemed like he was too full of himself. It was time to get some information out of Raven. I don't know who Claude was but something about him seemed familiar at the same time. But whoever he was, he was trouble.

The Madison's continued to ask me questions. After about a few more minutes of this, Raven grabbed my hand and told her parents she was taking me to her room for a bit. I gave her a smile of gratitude when she took me up the stairs and into her den of darkness. Her parents relented and told me if I needed anything to just ask.

Raven's room looked like any other normal teenage room. It was messy and disorganized. She had a twin bed with crimson sheets and a large black blanket with cute little purple bats. She motioned for me to take a seat on the bed while she grabbed a desk chair and flopped onto it. "Welcome to my cave of gothness! Rule number One: There are no rules."

Much has happened in the last few hours. It made me overwhelmed with emotions. It seems the Madison's didn't know about Libby and what went down all those years ago. Libby never said a word about it to her own family. Were dad and I really so terrible she had to keep it a secret from everyone? Even to her own brother? The Madison's seemed nice enough but would they turn out to be exactly like Libby?

Only time would tell, I guess.

My cell vibrated in my pocket again and I groaned. Already knowing who it was, I let out a little sigh.

"Is something the matter?" Raven asked with worry on her face.

"Who is this Claude guy? I don't know him but he knows me and he has my cell number. Do you know who he is? After all, he did come speak to you this morning."

"Claude is Alexander's cousin from Romania. He holds a grudge against Alexander because of the stuff that happened between them when they were kids. He's here on a mission and has been harassing us for months. We thought him and his gang of idiots when back to Romania and all this chaos had stopped. But it seems they're back for round two."

I could tell she wanted to say more, but she just bit her lip and shook her head to herself, contemplating on what to say next.

"Alexander and I will deal with him. You need to stay as far away as you can from him. He's dangerous and a bit psychotic. He would do anything to get what he wants. _Anything_. We don't know what he wants. But we will find out."

There was definitely something else she wasn't telling me. But I let it go, knowing I would get it out of her sooner or later. In the meantime, I'll do some investigation on my own to see who Claude was and this thing about memories. So Claude, Game on."


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: Hey guys, thank you so much for reading Lover's Desire, I'm glad that you enjoy it. Just to clarify, I don't own anything from the Vampire Kisses. I've grown up with and wished for so long that I could be a part of their world. In this way, I can. If you have any suggestions as to where the story should go, please feel free to do so in the reviews. I am no stranger to writers block and it comes often enough. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy what comes up in this chapter! So here we go!**

Chapter 3: Shopping with Danger

It was around ten when there was a knock at the door, arousing me from a deep sleep. Without waiting for a response, Dad opened the door, poking his head in. "Get up, pumpkin. Sarah and Paul called and invited us for brunch. Go on and get ready, we leave in thirty."

Fifteen minutes later, I had my hair styled into pigtails and wore my favorite red tank top and a pair of black jeans. My cell phone rang as I was putting on my shoes. It was a message from Raven.

It read:

 _Hey, so I was thinking, since its Saturday and all, how 'bout we do a movie night_

 _at Alexander's? He's totally up for it. So let me know when we meet up, okay?_

It sounded fun. It has been awhile since I last saw a movie. I wonder if I should bring any of my own. I'll just ask her when I see her. I wonder if she invited Becky and Matt. If so, that would be horrible. It's not like I don't like Becky, but she hasn't been entirely warm towards me since I arrived. She especially wasn't happy when Raven ditched her classes to show me around town. Which we have yet to do.

As it turns out, we were having brunch at the local Country club. Everyone that was a member there, wore white athletic clothing. Not one glimpse of color. Dad was wearing grey and khaki, fitting in with the environment. I felt very out of place.

The feeling didn't last long as I saw Raven and her family. Raven wore a black and green spandex dress with fishnets and her usual combat boots. We can be out of place together.

They waved us over and I claimed the seat between Raven and her brother. Dad sat across from me between Paul and Sarah.

"Thank you for inviting us to such a fancy club. I used to be a member at one like this in California. This one is far more breathtaking," Dad says to Paul.

I tuned out when they started to discuss golf and tennis. I turned to Raven's brother. "Hello there. What's your name?"

"Billy." He says in a distracted tone, the portable game in his lap bring the reason. I recognized the combo moves and the distinct battle music.

"Billy Boy, be polite. Do I have to take away your nerd infested game?" Raven threatened.

I grinned as I realized he was playing Nova Crashers, my favorite spaced themed video game in the history of games. "What level are you? Did you defeat the boss in level 61? It took me about a billion times to actually defeat it and get the bounty."

Billy finally glanced up, taking his eyes of the screen. "You play Nova Crashers?" his voice was filled with confusion and interest.

"I played it, and I beat it, twice. It took me thirty straight hours and a couple of liters of soda. But I managed."

Awe and respect filled his eyes. "Really, no way! I've just manage to get to level 64 just last night. And it has taken me days to get to where I am."

All too soon we were discussing the best strategic moves that would have worked on past levels and arguing over each other's choice of weapon. We got so heated up that our parents had to remind us to pick out something to eat.

I went with the standard breakfast, eggs and bacon with a side of toast. Everyone else went with a wide range of variety. Sarah and Paul each went with a triple BLT. Billy ordered chicken tenders. Raven decided on chocolate chip waffles. Dad went with the six stack of pancakes with sausage.

As we all waited for our orders, Raven asked about the plans from that morning.

"I'm up for anything. I wouldn't mind a movie night with you and Alexander." Smiling, I took a sip of orange juice, excited about hanging out with some friends. "Dad, is it okay of I go?"

"Sure, honey. Just remember to mind your manners and don't go looking for trouble. I'm sure Raven will keep you in line." He winked at Raven and she laughed.

"Are you kidding? Raven is the definition of trouble." Billy quickly took cover as Raven tried to snatch his game from his hands. A true sibling squabble.

We all laughed and our food arrived. As we settled down, I asked what everyone what were their plans for the day. Paul was going to go play some tennis to work off his sandwich and invited Dad along for a couple of matches. Billy had plans with a friend from school, playing video games and then working on some science projects. Sarah was going grocery shopping and running some errands. Raven planned on showing me around town, wanting to show me all the fun places to be.

One could say I was happy, but in all honesty, I was overjoyed. The Madison's were making an effort to include me in their family. They were making the effort to know _me_. This wasn't at all what I was expecting. I was expecting blank expressions, cold shoulders, and icy stares. I thought of abandonment. But the Madison's seemed caring and overly concerned about my well-being.

While Dad and Paul fought over the bill, Raven and I said our goodbyes and headed toward the center of town. It was a giant plaza that held a variety of stores. There was a small furniture store, a high end retail store, and a travel agency on one side. On the other held a second-hand bookstore and a hardware store. A small coffee shop sat next to the bookstore that was almost hidden from view.

"I know there's not much here. Down the street is the library and over there is the diner." Raven pointed towards the building at the far end of the plaza. The place was packed with teens form school. I could tell that was a major hot spot for them.

"As long as there is a bookstore, I'll live." Which was almost true. "In California, I practically lived at the bookstore. One of the local shops even offered me a part-time job since I was there so often."

"That's so cool! I've only worked at the travel agency and that wasn't by choice. Do you want to go into the bookstore?" She asked as she saw me inch towards the store.

"If you don't mind."

The bookstore smelled like new and the walls were a light tan color. The bookshelves were crammed into the small space, making the aisles narrow. Somehow a table and some chairs were able to fit within mountain of books. An elderly woman came from the back and asked if we needed any help. In the end, I only bought six books. Some were continuations while the rest were recent releases.

After that, Raven and I walked around the plaza. I noticed many of the shopkeepers and customers kept their eyes on us, talking in hushed tones with one another. I caught words like delinquents and weirdos. Part of me wanted to say something, but one look at Raven and I bit my tongue. She shook her head sadly and shrugged her shoulders. What was there to do?

"Hey Monster Girl, are you going to introduce me to your friend?" A voice snickered behind us.

The voice belonged to a classmate. He was in my Calculus class. I remembered he was staring intently at me when I walked into the classroom. His name was Tyler. Or was it Taylor? Something with a T. But he seemed like a Dick to me.

"What do you want, Trevor?" Raven glared.

Oh. It was Trevor. I was close. But he still seems like a Dick.

"I'm just making conversation. There hasn't been any new freaks in this town for a while. But somehow they always seem orbit around you. It's like you're the Queen of Monsters and they are all your loyal subjects." He laughed at his own joke. He came a bit closer and leaned in close. "I'm surprised the others aren't following you around. They were in the coffee shop not too long ago. They seemed to be arguing over something."

"Others? What others?" Raven's annoyance slipped away as she frantically looked everywhere around her.

"You know the ones. The weird kids from Romania. Your boyfriend's cousin and his lackeys."

Raven frantically grabbed my hand and started to drag me away. "That kind of hurts. What's wrong?"

"We need to get out of here. Claude and his friends are nearby. I'm not sure why they came back, but I know it's something bad. Alexander and I thought we saw the last of them months ago."

We hurried through the plaza as Raven became lost in thought. Whatever she was thinking, it wasn't good.

I've tried asking Raven about Claude, but she refused to say anything about him. She would only say that he was dangerous and had a grudge on Alexander. He was psychotic and I needed to stay away from him. But there's more to the story. I know there is. The way she refuses to say anything about what the grudge was about. The way she would quickly change the subject immediately afterwards was definitely a clue.

I had so many questions swirling in my mind that my head started spinning. Nothing about Claude made any sense. Thinking back, I wondered how he even managed to get my number in the first place. Maybe I did meet him somewhere and did forget? But, then again, I never went to any kind of club. And he said that he made me forget who he was? That just wasn't possible… right?

I wasn't going to get anywhere by myself. I couldn't ask Raven about it either. That only left one other person.

"Why didn't you mention Alexander lived in a MANSION?" I exclaimed as we walked up the driveway, each carrying a bag full of goodies.

"A surprise?" Raven laughed guiltily.

Alexander opened the door and smiled brightly. "Come on in. I hope you're both ready to scream in terror."

The inside of the mansion was as lovely as it was on the outside. It was like walking into a gothic dream.

We traveled up the staircase into a room with a full entertainment system and a sectional couch. On the screen, the menu of a slasher film flashed. It was one of my favorites. On the far left of the room, sat a long, thin table. Placed neatly on top laid two pizzas, three goblets of dark soda, and some cookies.

"Do you always have a movie night like this?" I asked in wonder.

"Usually. We don't always have pizza, though. Sometimes we have sandwiches."

"You guys must have some amazing parties then. Is there anyone else coming?" I was hoping for a no.

"Oh no. Just us three. Becky and Matt don't like to watch horror flicks. Or anything that isn't romantic and happily ever after." Raven pouted at this and just shrugged her shoulders like it was nothing.

I let out a little sigh of relief. Really, it's not that I don't like Becky. She's just not the type of person I would like to spend my time with. And I haven't met Matt yet, so I can't really say anything.

"Oh shoot, I'll be right back." Raven walked towards the door. "I need to ask Jameson something!"

"Jameson?"

"He's the Sterling family butler." Alexander answered my question. "Been with us for years and serves as a chaperone at times."

"That's really cool." I glanced in the hallway, making sure Raven wasn't in ear shot. "Listen, I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"Sure, anything. What's on your mind?"

"It's about Claude."

Alexander's face fell. He wasn't expecting that. "He hasn't been causing you any issues, has he?"

"Oh no. He hasn't contacted me at all. I was just wondering if you could tell me about him."

"I don't know if that would be a good idea. Claude had a lot of troubles growing up, he didn't feel like he belonged anywhere. He's always saw himself as an outsider that no one ever wanted or cared about. He wanted to change himself because he thought that he would be accepted. There's a lot more to the story, but it's not something I can say at the moment."

So there was something that Raven wasn't saying. It sounded like all he ever wanted was to be accepted. But how far did he go? What exactly did he do? I hesitated, but I had to ask, "What makes him so dangerous?"

"He's unstable and he will do anything he thinks is necessary to get what he wants. He's done some hurtful things to those around him. That's why we think its best that you steer clear of him. Until we know more, we don't want to risk anything."

That made sense. I was about to ask more but then I heard Raven as she came up the stairs. "I had to ask Jameson about his rice pudding recipe, my mom wanted to make it sometime soon. Now, who's ready for some gore?"

We settled on the couch and watched the movie. Raven and I screamed at the characters as they made bad decisions left and right that resulted in their demise. It was around eleven when the movie ended. I held in a yawn as Alexander clicked the lights on.

"Well this has been a fun night. But it's getting late and I should head home. Thank you so much for inviting me over, we should so it again sometime."

"We can drive you home if you want."

"Oh no that's alright. I want to walk, enjoy the night air."

"We can walk with you." Raven said.

"No that's alright. You two enjoy the rest of the night. I'll just cut through the cemetery. I'll be home in no time."

Alarmed, they insisted that they walk with me part of the way. If that would help ease their mind, then why not?

The cemetery was dark and quiet as we walked along the path. No sign of the gatekeeper or anyone else. The way Alexander and Raven eyed the darkness around us made me think that something was about to jump out at us. They didn't say a single word as the gravel crunched beneath our feet, making the silence seem eerie.

"Well here we are." I said, breaking the silence. "Again, thank you for such a wonderful night. You guys be careful, don't run into any vampires on your way back."

"What!?" They exclaimed, eyes bulging out of their sockets.

I laughed. "It's just an expression my dad always says. I was scared of vampires when I was a little kid, and I thought that the boogeyman was a vampire waiting in the shadows. My dad always teased me with it and he thought it was funny. It's not like vampires exist."

Their laughs came out strangely, like they were forced. But then again, I was tired. Maybe it was just my imagination.

"I'll see you guys later."

"Are you sure you don't want us to walk you home?" Alexander asked for about the hundredth time.

"I'm sure. I'll text you guys later. Goodnight."

"Night."

I walked through the rest of the cemetery without falling. But I had the strangest sensation that someone was watching me. I looked around and saw no one. Maybe I was just paranoid.

 _Crunch._

I whirled to my right as a twig snapped and stared into the darkness. I reached into my bag and felt the pepper spray. Gripping it, I yelled, "Who's there?"

No response. I was about to laugh at my foolishness when there was another crunch. I took off at a dead run, not thinking what direction I was heading in. I heard footsteps behind me, chasing me. I screamed for help.

The person laughed and grabbed onto my jacket, making me fall. We tangled on the ground. I managed to get my pepper spray out of my bag, but as soon as I sprayed it, my attacker knocked it away from my hand. I continued to use my hands and legs as I tried breaking free of their grasp.

"Go ahead, keep on squirming. I like to play with my food first." A deep voice growled. I couldn't see much of him, it was too dark. He laughed as I struggled. He continued, "If only I wasn't so hungry, I would have kept you. But the smell of your blood is just so delicious." He licked the base of my neck. "Just one bite, and it would all be over."

"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Someone yelled.

"Today seems to be your lucky day. But don't worry, there's always tomorrow." And with that, he disappeared. Evaporated into thin air.

"Amber! Are you alright?" They grabbed onto my hand and pulled me into a sitting position. The moon came out from behind some clouds, the moon casting some light. It was Claude. "We have to get you out of here. I'll take you home."

Without waiting for an answer, he lifted me up into his arms and started walking.

"I'm fine. I can walk. Let me down." I needed to get out of here. Claude was dangerous, remember?

"Don't feel like it."

"I don't understand what just happened. Who was that? And why did he—"

"Enough questions for now. Aren't you going to thank me for saving your life just now?"

"Thank you. But I s—"

"Hush now. I'll answer your questions. But not tonight. I'll tell you everything." He stared right into my eyes. "Now, go to sleep."

My eyes started to grow heavy, but I fought to keep them open. What in the world was going on? Nothing made sense. "What did you do to me?"

"Just making you sleep. You'll need your rest."

"Just who are you?" I couldn't keep my eyes open. The last thing I saw was a bat hovering in the distance, like it was watching.

Claude laughed. "Someone that cares about you."

After that, I fell into oblivion, falling into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Truth is Revealed (Partially)

My body felt heavy as I opened my eyes. I expected to be in an unfamiliar place, but the sight of my bookshelves told me I was in my bedroom. My head throbbed as I tried remembering the events from the night before. Raven and Alexander walked with me part of the way through the cemetery. I was walking on the path. And then…

I was attacked. Then the guy just disappeared out of thin air. Claude was carrying me home and he somehow made me fall asleep.

How in the world did he do that?

If he could make me fall asleep by simply gazing into my eyes, then he could have easily erased my memories. But how?

Glancing at my alarm clock, I realized it was almost noon. It was Sunday too. Dad should be at work today. Checking my phone, there were a few messages and one missed call.

The missed call was from Raven from earlier this morning, no voice mail. She then sent a message asking if I wanted to hang today. There was a message from an unknown number, but upon further inspection, it was Alexander. He needed to speak with me about something urgent. The last was from Claude.

I quickly texted Raven back telling her I had other plans. I told Alexander we can meet up later whenever he's free. And I told Claude to be at my door in thirty minutes.

I had just gotten out of the shower when the doorbell rang, and started to throw my clothes on. Opening the door, Claude was leaning against the wall. He wore a plain black shirt and studded ripped jeans, sporting some red shoes.

"What did I do to deserve being invited here to your place? It's not every day I get to spend time with a beautiful lady for no reason." He smiled, his lip piercing catching the light.

"We need to talk." I moved aside, waiting for him to come in. He just stood, staring. Waiting for something. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come in."

He came in, looking around the living room. There were still some boxes open here and there in the living room and kitchen. He took a seat at the kitchen table and waited for me to say something.

"Do you want anything to drink?" the hostess side of me asked. You still have to be polite when inviting someone into your home, even if that someone was dangerous.

"No, I'm fine." He patted the seat next to him. "If you want to talk about last night then you're going to need to take a seat."

"What if I don't want to talk about last night?"

"You're still going to need to take a seat."

Instead of sitting next to him, I took the seat that was furthest from him. "Where did we first meet?"

He sighed and bit his lip. "Quick to the point. Glad to know you're still as straightforward as back then. We met six months ago. It was an underground club and it happened to be an all age's club. One of your friends heard about it and dragged you there for a night on the town. You accidentally got a drink that was meant for me and I stopped you before you took the first sip. We laughed it off. I tried flirting with you, but you pulled out a book and said that the only romance you needed to experience was all in there. And then you left."

That… that did sound like me. But I didn't remember any of it. "Please, continue."

"The second time we met was the next night. You arrived with your friends again, but this time you spend most of the night reading your book. To make things interesting, I ordered you a drink. You declined, of course," he added as my face fell in horror. "It wasn't like I drugged it or anything," he said, his lips forming a pout.

"Right." I say sarcastically. "So after I declined, what happened?"

"You went back to reading your book! I never felt so hurt that my charms weren't working on you. I even asked you what was so special about that book. What made it so romantic? You said that it was like magic coming off a page. You could literally feel the sadness and pain that the author was trying to convey. Everything in the book was what romance should be about."

"What was the name of the book?" There was only one book I knew that made me have those kind of feelings. If he got it right, then…. Crap.

"Evelyn and the Dark Prince of Crimson Castle."

Damn. That was my favorite book. I read that constantly as a child. I still do. At least that was until the few weeks before the move. I was so devastated that I lost it. I couldn't find a single copy anywhere. I'm still depressed about it. In more ways, that book was my rock. "Well that certainly sounds like me."

"That's because it was." He smiled, recalling the memory.

"Well then. Why did you take my memories?"

His face fell slightly, narrowing his eyes. It was as if it pained him. "That's something I can't quite discuss at the moment."

I bit my lip, wondering what he _was_ willing to discuss. Whatever caused him to make such a pained expression, made me want to know more. "All right. How about this: how do you have the ability to erase memories?"

"I was born with it." He said simply, like it was obvious.

"Let me revise my question. How do you erase memories?"

"Sweetheart, I don't kiss and tell."

This confused me. "We never even kissed."

He had a glint in his eyes. "Not that you remember."

No. I couldn't have. Surely I would have remembered that. Tell me this guy wasn't my first kiss. No. He was joking. Right?

He continued on, as if my face wasn't turning red. "About last night… it's dangerous for you to be out alone by yourself. Especially in a cemetery. That man that attacked you, he's dangerous. He was looking for a meal, and you just happened to become the target."

A meal? I recalled the words the man spoken to me: _"If only I wasn't so hungry, I would have kept you. But the smell of your blood is just so delicious._

Blood? He wanted my blood? A normal person wouldn't have craved blood for a meal. He would've wanted a nice, juicy hamburger or something. But he wanted blood. I was his juicy hamburger.

A sudden thought entered my head. But I quickly dismissed it, for it was too ridiculous. There were no such things as mythological creatures. Not ones that bumped in the night. Even if they were to exist…

Shaking my head, I looked up and saw Claude watching me. He looked so sad. I had the sudden urge to touch him, to comfort him somehow.

I forced myself to think of something else. "So we have a cannibal on our hands?"

"Not… exactly. He wanted a meal, but he was hallucinating, probably from drugs. We tried tracking him down, but he disappeared."

"We?"

"My friends and I. We're kind of traveling right now, so wherever one of us goes, we all follow."

"Why are you here then?"

"Visiting with family? Alexander and I have some unfinished business. But it's not for the reason they think. Although, I was surprised that you ended up moving here. I wasn't expecting that. It was quite a surprise. You must've found your mom's family."

I blinked in surprise. I wasn't expecting for him to know that much about me. I must have really trusted him to say anything about the woman who birthed me. Like trust him with my life kind of trust. "Raven's my cousin."

Now it was his turn to blink in surprise. "Woah. That's really something. But it explains a lot of things."

"Like what?"

"You two were pretty close."

I had the strangest feeling he was going to say more, but the doorbell rang, interrupting my thoughts.

I walked the small distance to the front door and looked out into the peep hole. Raven was standing on the other side.

A surge of panic rushed into my veins. I had to do something. If Raven saw Claude, she would freak out. Especially after she made me promise to stay away from him. But I couldn't just lie to her and break her trust. Claude must have sensed my unease as he came up behind me and glanced through the peephole.

"Well that seems like my cue to leave. I'll just slip quietly out the back door. We can talk more later." He turned to leave and suddenly my hand reached out to grab onto his shirt.

Realization hit my face and I snatched my hand away. I mumbled an apology as a blush spread across my face. "Don't know where that came from."

Claude didn't say anything. I looked up, expecting to see a playful smile on his face. What I saw, however, was far from a smiling face. His usual pale cheeks were now a little red. He refused to meet my eyes.

Raven knocked loudly at the door and Claude hurried to the back door. "I'll see you later."

As soon as he was out if sight, I opened the door to a worry-faced Raven. "Hey Raven. What's up?

"I was just on my way to the library. I was thinking of getting a head start on my paper for English. I know you said you had plans, but I figured I would ask you since it was on my way." I know there was another reason why she was there. She was probably still worried about Claude and his intentions. She was only making sure that I was safe. Which made me happy that she was thinking of me that much.

"Sure. I was going to finish unpacking the last few boxes, but that can wait until later. What's your topic on?"

"My topic?" She asked in confusion. "Oh, right, my topic. I was thinking about analyzing these two poems and then compare them." She paused and looked behind me. "I can help with the last of the boxes. It would be faster with the two of us working on it. We can always head to the library later."

Smiling at her eagerness, I led her in. I quickly noticed that she didn't have her backpack but rather a really small clutch purse. I didn't comment on that, knowing that she was only thinking of me and my safety.

As we sorted through boxes, I debated telling Raven about last night's events. I'm sure she would freak out about it, since it seemed like I was moments away from becoming dinner for a maniac.

"You have so many DVD's. There must be at least two hundred in this box." Raven was looking into one of the living room boxes.

"I wouldn't be surprised. We have a few boxes that are jammed full of movies. Thank goodness we already have the shelves set up. You can put them in any order you want. We never attempted to organize them before, since there are so many."

"Next time, we should have a movie night here. There are so many options to choose from. I'm sure Alexander would love it."

"That sounds like a great idea. I had so much fun last night. I haven't had that much fun in ages." Now that I think about it, I couldn't remember the last time I had fun. I was busy with the move and the fact that my friends weren't on speaking terms with me. Or perhaps I wasn't on speaking terms with them. Just the thought of them made my blood boil.

Raven was right. With the two of us, it didn't take long at all. We managed to finish the living room and the kitchen. It looked neat and spacious without all those boxes in the way.

I was making us both tea when I remembered something. "Alexander messaged me this morning about needing to talk to me. Do you know what it is he needs to talk to me about?"

"I have an idea of what it could be, but I would rather you hear it from him." Raven looked like she wanted to spill the beans, whatever it was Alexander needed to tell me. But I wouldn't push her.

I set the glass of tea in front of her. I watch her take a sip as her cell phone rang against the kitchen counter. She looked at the caller ID and winced. "Sorry, I'll just be a minute."

It wasn't long until she came back in the house with a sigh. Apparently, she and Becky had plans to hang out but Becky had to cancel. She had plans with Matt and didn't want to reschedule on him. Raven wasn't all that surprised, since it happened from time to time. She did seem a bit disappointed.

I wonder if Becky ever realized how sad she made Raven feel. I'm guessing not, since she was still doing the same thing repeatedly.

"How about we play some video games?" I asked, hoping slaying some monsters would cheer her up a bit.

"Heck yeah! Better than working on some paper!"

I led her down the hall and into my bedroom. It was crammed full of shelves displaying books, comics, and movies. I had a twin bed with dark red sheets with several different plush blankets. The small TV was hooked up and was next to the walk-in closet perched on a stand. I motioned for Raven to take a seat on the bed as I handed her a game controller. "You can try out Nova Crashers 2 if you like. Otherwise I have some fighting games that you might like."

"Thank you. I think I'll try Nova Crashers 2. Billy has been talking to me about it none stop. He was really impressed with your gaming skills. I'm sure you two will get along fine." Raven grinned. I could tell she was feeling cheery already.

Three hours had passed by the time our stomachs grumbled. We decided to order a pizza and some drinks. We conversed about trivial things while we waited. We shared funny stories from our childhoods. I could feel that we were becoming closer. That made me feel that moving here to this town was a good thing. Those emotions I felt when I first heard of Dad's idea about getting to know my birth mothers family, were a bit more understanding. I felt that the hole I thought would forever be empty was slowly filling up.

Sometime around six, the pizza was delivered by a guy that I recognized from school. He was in my English and Calculus class. He was friendly, from what I could tell. He was always asking questions and was praised by the teachers constantly.

"Good evening, ladies. Here's your extra cheese and peperoni pizza," he said as he handed me the warm pizza box. "Unfortunately, I seemed to have messed up on your drink order. I realized my mistake when I was coming up the driveway. I know that you ordered a two-liter soda and I accidentally put two orders of it. So as it was my mistake, please take these two as an apology." He then proceeded to hand Raven a bag that contained the two large sodas.

"Thank you so much. You're Heath right?" I asked as I took out two tens from my wallet and handed him the bills.

"That would be me. You're the new transfer from California. Amber, right?" I nodded. "Glad to have you in town. Here, let me get you your change."

"No, keep it. Thanks for the extra drink."

"Thank you! I look forward to see you in class tomorrow. Enjoy the food," he winked and headed toward his car, waving goodbye.

"See you tomorrow, Heath. Thanks for the food!" I quickly shut the door and set the pizza on top of the counter. Raven trailed behind me and set the bag down next to the pizza.

"He was totally flirting with you." Raven said, raising an eyebrow expectantly.

"I didn't notice, to be honest. I thought his eye just decided to twitch. But it was nice of him to give us this soda for free."

"Another reason he was flirting."

"Well, at least we got food out of it." Heath seemed kind, at least he wasn't openly mean towards us. He was a bit cute, now that I thought about it. He had nice black, curly hair. He had high-definition cheek bones and plump lips. He was way too tall for my taste though. Maybe he would turn into a good friend.

We dove straight into the pizza and soda. We devoured half the box when Dad arrived home from work. He seemed pleasantly surprised at the sight of Raven and even more so that there was food.

"How was your first day on the job?" I asked as I grabbed him a cup for his soda.

"It was great. It had almost the same set up as the old office. Just a few minor changes here and there."

"Where do you work, Mr. Severson?" Raven asked.

"I work at the Travel Agency at the Plaza."

"Didn't you say you worked there part-time Raven?"

"I did. It's fun from time to time. At least now, Ruby and Janice will have some company."

"Well that's good to hear. They seem like really nice ladies." Smiling, Dad took a huge bite from his slice of pizza and turned on the TV to the evening news.

As soon as we were all stuffed, I quickly did the dishes and put them away. I heard my phone beep as I wiped my hands off with the dishtowel. It was from Alexander, asking me if I minded coming over to talk about something important. I told him I would be there soon, along with Raven.

"Dad? I'm going to go over to Alexander's with Raven. I'll be home later, okay?"

"That's fine, sweetie. Just call if you need anything."

Raven and I left the house and she suggested going through the cemetery to get there faster. Thoughts of last night flooded my mind and told her we should take the longer route. She was confused at first but didn't say anything as we walked around the cemetery. The mansion came into view ten minutes later. Alexander was waiting outside for us. Raven rushed into his arms and gave him a quick peck on the lips. He motioned for me to follow them into the parlor room.

The parlor room was dark and had a sense of calmness. There was a long table with lit candles. There were two tall bookcases with books and artifacts that I assumed was ancient. There was a family portrait hanging on the wall. Upon further inspection, I realized it was a painting and not a photograph. That was some serious talent. I recognized the young boy in the painting as Alexander.

Raven and Alexander entered the room and sat at the table, watching me. I quickly apologized and took my seat.

Alexander laughed. "No need to apologize. It's great to have visitors admire the work of my grandmother."

"The painting seems so life-like. I thought it was a photograph when I first saw it. It's amazing."

"I'm sure she would love to have heard that." Alexander smiled and then his expression turned serious. "I wanted to talk to you about Claude. As you know, he is my cousin. We weren't close growing up. He always seemed to think he was less important to our family and jealous of me. He thought that since he was different, he was the black sheep."

"But what made him so different than the rest of your family?" I thought back to the erasing memories ability. Maybe that had something to do with him being a black sheep.

"In order for me to tell you that, I need to tell you something about me. I would like for you to keep an open mind and to keep it a secret. Just has Raven has been keeping it a secret. I know this may seem crazy and impossible. But just listen. Can you do that?"

I nodded, bracing myself. But nothing could have prepared me for what Alexander said.

"I'm a vampire."


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's note_ : Sorry for such a lengthy pause for this update. I got caught up in school and life and had a bad case of writers block. But do know that I plan on finishing this story but don't know when that will be. But until then, please continue to read and leave a review. Thank you all to those who have waited and been patient with me.

Chapter 5: Vampire's Everywhere

Alexander's words echoed in my mind. He's a vampire? That was impossible. But, at the same time, the same thought crossed my mind when I encountered the man in the cemetery. But all of that seemed impossible. Vampires don't exist. It was all make-believe.

"I had trouble believing it at first too. When I first met him I believed he was one. And then when I finally persuaded myself that he wasn't, he turned out to be the real thing." Raven laughed a bit at the memory, her eyes still held a bit of worry.

"If you really are a vampire, then show me some proof."

Alexander seemed prepared for that as he took out a small compact mirror. He handed me the mirror and motioned for me to turn around. Getting up from my seat, I slowly turned around, wondering what exactly was going to happen. Was he going to be invisible? Or was he going to show up?

I opened the mirror and held it up so that what was behind me was reflecting back. Raven reflected back, grim face and all. She was holding on to something, almost as if she were holing air. Slightly turning the mirror in Alexander's direction, I held my breath. There was nothing. I turned my head, and sure enough, he was still sitting down. I quickly looked back into the mirror to make sure, and there was still nothing.

There was no way that could be a trick. There was one more thing I had to see to clarify his words. I marched up to Alexander and gave him back his mirror. I demanded he opened up his mouth. With a sigh, he obeyed. There, he had long, pointy fangs.

He really was a vampire.

I went back to my seat and sat. My mind reeled. Vampires were real.

"Then Claude is also…?" I trailed off, not wanting to put my thoughts into words.

"He's half vampire and half human. Last year, he came here to look for a way to become a full vampire. His friends were also in the same predicament as he was. We fought, seeing as how we tried to stop him. He and his friends did some damage. But when they found that there was enough for only one of them to become a full vampire, he decided it wasn't worth to destroy their friendship over. He apologized and that was the last we saw of him. Until he came back, that is. I don't know what he wants, revenge? To talk? I know that whatever it is, it can't be good."

"So that's why you said he was dangerous." Could he really be here to enact his revenge? Or was he here for something else? I thought back to my conversation with Claude from earlier this morning. He said he was here for family business and not for the reasons they thought. Can I really trust what he says?

Raven cupped my hand in hers. "That's why we need you to be careful around him. Who knows what he's planning. And what connection he may have to you. Until we know, I have more reason to stick to you like glue."

I should tell them about what I uncovered about my past with Claude. But even if I did, I knew very little details myself. I didn't even know if that was the truth.

"I know that finding out about the existence about vampires is quite surprising, possibly a bit alarming. I gather you have many questions you would like to ask. But for the safety of my family and myself, I need to make sure you can keep this a secret." Alexander pleaded. I could see he was worried that I would be screaming my way out of here and telling the world about vampires.

"I will keep this a secret. I have no reason to tell anyone," I assured him. "I'm coming around to the fact. I admit I was a bit in shock. But to be honest, I was coming to the conclusion myself that vampires were real."

"You were?" They both asked.

"Last night… there was sort of an incident revolving around fangs and a hunger for my flesh and blood."

There was a split second of silence before the room was engulfed in chaos. Alexander and Raven were trying to talk over each other, asking a wide range of questions. Raven frantically checked the base of my throat. I'm assuming to check for bite marks.

Jameson strolled into the room, rolling in a serving cart. I caught his eyes, hoping he could help deescalate the situation. He nodded once in understanding and then took a glass and calmly dropped it on the floor, causing it to shatter. Both stopped yelling and looked over at Jameson. "I'm so sorry, it seemed to have slipped from my fingers. I apologize for the mess and will clean it up at once."

"That's okay Jameson. I realized we were rather loud before the subtle interruption." Alexander tangled his fingers in Raven's and sighed. "Sorry about that. Could you maybe start over from the beginning?"

"I was attacked not long after we parted ways in the cemetery. I was being followed, or hunted, by this man. Vampire, I mean. We fought and when he held me down he was going to bite me. Claude was there to save the day–rather, the night. He got the other vampire to flee. But not before he made a vow to get me eventually." I shuddered thinking about it, knowing full well that it wouldn't be the last I saw of him. "Claude avoided my questions about what happened and made me fall asleep."

"That's why you didn't want to cut through the cemetery. You thought you might be attacked again."

"You should both avoid the cemetery. I think it might be time to give my cousin a call. Find out why he's really here in Dullsville." Alexander had a fierce look on his face, his hands protectively wrapped around Raven's.

"I have a question. He said—the vampire who attacked me—he would have kept me if he wasn't so hungry. What did he mean by 'kept'?"

Raven answered. "When a vampire bites you, he can turn you. If he bites you on sacred ground, like the cemetery for instance, then you would be bounded to each other for eternity."

"I see." My voice faltered a bit. If he had stuck to his first idea, I would have been stuck with a lunatic forever. I'm glad he went with option two. "I'm sure vampire life has its perks, but I would rather keep my fleshy self."

"To ensure that we all keep our fleshy selves, we need to figure out why the vampire population in town is spiking. Claude and his friends make four. Now we have to add an unidentified crazed vampire to the list. That's five more than usual." Raven bit into her cheek, thinking.

"Even one is more than usual to me. I thought they were all myths and legends. To find out vampires are real… it's not really much of a shock anymore. It's kind of funny, really. To have a deep fear of them and countless sleepless nights, jumping at every sound because you think you would be dragged off to Dracula's secret lair and be forced to be his bride. Then when you finally got over that fear, they turn out to be real. Just the best news ever." I looked towards Alexander, and smiled. "But I'm not afraid of you. If you never would have told me, I thought you would have been a regular fleshy human teenager. The whole vampire thing makes you cooler though."

Alexander grinned, a blush creeping onto his pale skin at the compliment. Raven grinned back, looking relieved. Jameson had finished sweeping up the broken glass and set up the refreshments as we were talking. He came over and handed Alexander a goblet of a dark red drink as he gave Raven and I some sparkling water. It took me a moment to realize that Alexander was drinking blood. Like actual blood. The same that ran through my veins. I mean not the exact same blood. Mine was still in my body. But human blood.

I had to suppress the question forming on my lips, thinking it rude to ask what person he's drinking tonight. Or how he got it. Not that it really mattered.

What mattered was that I knew Alexander was different from the vampire that attacked me. He didn't have it in him to be cruel.

After that, the night continued on with no more talks of vampires. Instead, Alexander and Raven gave me a tour of the Mansion. It was wonderful, only I was hoping it held secret passages throughout the walls. Other than that, it was a magnificent tour. At ten I had to go home and Jameson was kind enough to drive me through the streets of Dullsville before arriving safely at my doorstep. Thankfully, with no hungry vampire in sight.

Settling into my bed, I listened for any strange sounds coming from outside. Thankfully the only sound was Dad's snoring. I soon fell to sleep.

I woke up in a rush after realizing I forgot to set my alarm and was running fifteen minutes behind. I quickly showered, brushed my teeth, and put on my clothes in five minutes flat. I was amazed on how I made it in time for first bell. I didn't see Raven anywhere in the halls as I walked passed. Becky was near her locker with her boyfriend and they were making gooey mushy eyes at each other. I was tempted to ask her about Raven but decided against it.

`\ I slid into my desk before the warning bell rang. There wasn't any sign of the English teacher so I took the time to go over the homework assignment again to make sure I did it correctly. As I finished, someone gently nudged my shoulder. It took me a second to realize that there was a figure standing over me.

"Hey Amber. How's it going?" Heath asked, smiling shyly.

"It's going good. How was your weekend, Heath?"

"It was okay. It was a pretty busy weekend. Just about everyone in town was in a pizza mood."

"At least that's good for business. Thank you again for the extra soda. You really didn't have to do that."

"No problem. Think of it as a welcome gift to town. Unless someone else gave you a two liter as a welcome gift. Tell me I'm the only one."

"You are the only one. Also you're the only one who gave us a welcome gift."

Heath bumped a fist into the air like he won a grand prize, excitement broke out on his face. "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. I would've been devastated if someone else took my idea. I would've had to think of something else for you to remember me by."

"Preferably something consumable. My father and I don't have a green thumb so any plant would have been brutally murdered in our care."

"Glad to know that now before I showed up with a potted plant." Just then the teacher walked in, all huffy and puffy. She dove right into the class assignment, not even caring that the students had to rush to keep up with her. "We'll talk later," Heath whispered as he went towards his desk in the front.

A few moments later, she declared it was silent reading time for the rest of the class period. The class rushed out of the classroom when the bell rang.

Heath waited for me and we walked towards calculus. We had a pop quiz, which to me it didn't feel like a pop quiz. It was two pages worth with ten questions each.

It was difficult and made me wish I didn't skip out on my cup of coffee. But that's what happens when you forget to set an alarm. The class passed smoothly enough without too much trouble. Trevor kept groaning about how it was too early in the day for a pop quiz. Too early in the day for anything. Sounded like someone had a massive hangover.

P.E. was a different story entirely. The teachers made the boys and the girls split up and each had their own basketball game. The guys went at it competitively while the girls took turns making free throws. I made six baskets in a row and the girls wanted to know if I was ever on a team. I admitted that I once played a season in middle school but in the end it wasn't for me. But I wasn't going to tell them that the only reason I joined was to make my best friend happy at the time.

A friend that I didn't even talk to anymore.

The last class was health and even then it was an easy class. It was a video day and that made it easier for some of the students take advantage of the dim lighting. Raven was one of them. It seemed that she stayed out too late at Alexander's and slept in until the end of first period.

I woke Raven up when the bell rang. She mumbled something as she gathered up her bag and walked zombie-like towards the cafeteria. "I need food. Preferably something sweet and sugary that I will be in a sugar coma for months. Or caffeine. Possibly a caffeine coma. Maybe a combination of both. That could work. I just want to sleep."

"We both have the same idea then. Only I would like a sugary death so I end up foaming gummy bears. All rainbow gummy bears." I laughed at the image that came to mind.

"Not a bad idea."

We found a table at the back of the cafeteria that was free. I looked for signs of Becky and Matt, but didn't see them in the cafeteria. Heath came strolling down and took a seat across from us.

"Hey guys. How are the sandwiches?" He motioned to our funky smelly ham and cheese.

"Probably not worth the indigestion later but I'm going to eat it anyway." Raven took a bite and from the look on her face she instantly regretted it.

"Yeah. I'm not going to take a chance." I slid my tray over to Heath. "You can eat it if you want."

He grabbed the smelly sandwich and happily took a bite. "Gotta say, not as bad as the tacos."

"How can you mess up tacos?"

Heath looked at me seriously. His voice grave, "They found a way."

After forcing down the bite of sandwich and taking a huge gulp of water, Raven also slid her tray over to Heath. "Have mine too. I think I would rather wait until dinner."

" _Score_." We watched Heath woof down the sandwiches with mild curiosity and disgust. "Remind me to sit with you guys on sandwich and taco days. You're spoiling me too much. Don't you know not to feed a hungry teenager because then they will always come back for food?"

"I thought that was only animals."

"Well maybe I'm part animal. On full moons I turn into a raccoon and raid all the trash bins in the neighborhoods."

"Poor trash bins."

"Thanks for the food, I have to get back to photography club. I said I would only be a few minutes and the lunch period is almost over. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

We echoed our goodbyes and as soon as he left the cafeteria, Raven wiggled her eyebrows at me. "Still think he's not flirting?"

"He's not. He's only being nice. I think we're going to become great friends."

"Possibly a boyfriend?"

"No. I don't think so. It's way too early to be thinking about that. Besides I have more things to worry about." Vampires being one. Claude being another. And let's not forget the woman who's the reason I'm here in the first place.

"Which reminds me, Aunt Libby is still not answering her phone. It's not like it's anything to worry about. She doesn't check her messages until the end of every two weeks or so."

"Isn't that helpful," my voice heavy in sarcasm. "I don't even know what I would say to her. I have an idea. Mostly yelling at her about ruining my dad's life. Maybe it's best if she doesn't answer right away."

Raven hugged my shoulders. "It's going to happen eventually. It could happen tomorrow or the day after that. But soon. And it will be okay. We'll be there with you."

My chest tightened up and I could feel my eyes watering. I shook my head violently gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "You have no idea how much that means to me."

"I know. But family sticks together right? And even better, best friends until the end."

"You're going to make me cry."

"Until you foam gummy bears?"

"Yes."

"Still not a bad idea."

We picked up our trays and threw the garbage away. Raven insisted on ditching class but Becky came out of nowhere and dragged her towards their classroom.

"Who even needs study hall? All everyone does in there is study. Do I even need it to graduate?" Raven pouted and dug in her heels.

"Classes are important. Even ones like study hall. C'mon Raven. I barely even saw you all week. What have you been doing?"

"I believe that's my fault. We've been hanging out. Raven's been showing me around town and Alexander was nice enough to invite me to a movie night." I relished the look her face made after saying that. But I soon felt guilty. "But she is right. Classes are important. You can't expect to graduate if you keep ditching your classes."

Immediately she stopped pouting. "I guess you're right. I won't ditch all this week. I'll go to my classes. But next week is a different story." She waved her free hand towards me. "I'll meet you at your house after school, okay?"

"Okay, I'll be—"

Becky interrupted. "I thought we had plans to go to Hasty's after school?"

"I texted you yesterday saying that I had to cancel. You agreed that we would reschedule our hangout for tomorrow."

"I guess I forgot. Anyway we have to get to class. That was the warning bell." Becky dragged Raven again toward the classroom, Raven still dragging her feet just a bit.

Reining in my anger, I took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Nothing good was going to come out of getting angry at Becky. And making her angry wasn't going to get me anywhere either. It would be better to just ignore her and not let her get under my skin. I'm sure she was nice. She just felt threatened by me.

Hitching my bag higher on my shoulder, I made my way towards the plaza. That cup of coffee was calling my name. With lots and lots of sugar to bash away the coffee taste.

As I waited for my cup, I took a seat at one of the small round tables by the front of the store. The shop was small but bright. There was one other customer and I recognized her as the woman who owned the bookstore next door. She gave me a warm smile when I caught her eye. She didn't seem to bat an eye at my choice of clothing. The ripped jeans and crop top didn't seem to bother her at all. Nor did she snicker at my dark eye shadow or red lips.

The waitress brought over my cup as the door chimed, signaling that there was another customer. I took a sip and glanced over.

Surprised, I spit out the hot liquid and it ran down my chin and onto the table. Quickly grabbing a napkin and wiping my face, I glanced at the four who entered.

Claude was the first one I saw, my eyes zeroing in on his lip ring. I forced my eyes away from his mouth and looked around him to the three brooding against the wall. I noticed the one on the left right away. He was big and looked like he could lift a car if he tried hard enough. The man next to him was shorter and was fidgeting with a phone. My eyes finally rested on a fashionable clad mini skirt and corset top. She was striking and couldn't help glance down at my own clothes and compare them.

As the group walked towards the counter, Muscles tapped Claude on the shoulder and gestured his chin towards me. His face lit up and he told the Muscles to order him his usual.

He took the unoccupied seat across from me. Now that he was closer, I noticed how pale his skin is and saw a small fang when he opened his mouth.

"Amber, what a lovely surprise. Are you ditching class?" He said in a mock whisper, seemingly already knowing the answer.

"I'm on my way home actually."

"Really? I'll walk you home in that case."

"That's okay. I don't need an escort."

"I didn't say you did. I want to walk you home simply because I want to."

His friends made their way over, taking up the free seats behind him. Muscles gestured for me to fist bump him, saying, "Amber, hey, it's been awhile."

Confused, I lightly tapped my fist against his. "Have we met?"

He grimaced. "That's right. You wouldn't remember. I'm Rocco."

"Tripp." The one with the cell offered, his thumbs flying on the keyboard.

"It's Kat." Her smile widened as she grabbed my hand. "Just look at you. You grew out your hair! Its looks amazing."

"Um. Thank you?" I questioned. She was the one who looked amazing. "I guess I knew you all in California?"

Kat answered. "We used to hang out all the time before the thing happened."

"What thing? When Claude wiped my memory clean?"

"No, that came after. We would have been there for that too but we just couldn't."

This was too confusing. What could have happened so bad that my memory had to be erased? Was it the whole vampire thing? Did I find out too much?

"I think we should move to a different topic." Claude glared at Kat.

"No. I don't think we should. Shouldn't I know why you took them in the first place? You didn't have any right to erase them, and certainly—"

"You asked me to, Amber. You may not remember, but I certainly do. It's what was needed to be done at the time. For you to be kept safe."

"Safe from what?" My voice cracked, scared.

"A psychopath. Someone who has it out for the Sterlings. Someone who wants us to pay dearly for what we caused him and his family."

"Who is he?"

The waitress came over with their drinks. Claude cradled his cup against his lips and spoke softly. "Someone who wanted you dead."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: Suspects**

" _Someone who wanted you dead_."

Claude sipped his coffee as I thought over his words in my head. The thought of someone wanting me dead was absolutely ludicrous. Why would anyone want me dead?

Claude continued speaking. "When I erased your memories, we thought that you would be safe. And you were. But now that you're here, living in this town, you're in a lot more danger than you were before."

"Then, that means you can give me back my memories right?"

When he shook his head no, I became distressed, thinking it impossible that I would ever get my memories back.

"It's not that I can't. I just don't want to. If I do, you'll remember some pretty gruesome things. History might just repeat itself. How you'll see us. How you'll see me. Everything as you thought you knew, everything, will be changed. I don't want to see you go through that again."

Silence drifted between us. The three vampires looked everywhere other than at the two of us. Even Tripp had stopped fiddling with his phone and was staring intently at a potted plant across the street.

I knew that I wouldn't be able to convince Claude to change his mind. Alexander did say that he could be pretty stubborn.

Downing the rest of the coffee in one gulp, I grabbed for my backpack and got up from the table.

Claude looked alarmed and he got up just as fast. "Where are you going?"

"Home."

"Let us walk with you." He said in an authoritative tone, one that left no room for argument.

Too bad I wasn't one to agree. "I can walk myself home, thank you."

With that, I gave the waitress a smile goodbye as the door chimed on my way out. A few moments later, I heard the chime again. I looked behind me and there were the four vampires, following me.

I continued walking on, hoping to ignore them. It worked out for the most part, but I couldn't help noticing the stares that we were getting from other shoppers.

"You know," Kat fastened her pace to match mine, "I really do miss the city. People weren't so judgmental about everything. Do you miss it?"

"Not really." I thought back to my life in California. There were too many toxic people in my life at the time. Friends who weren't really friends and blew me off the second they had what they wanted from me. Friends who in the end should have never been given the chance to be trusted. "I don't know how close we were, but my life wasn't the greatest. It certainly wasn't the worst either. Thinking back, I'm glad I moved. I don't miss the city as much as I thought I would."

"I know how things were for you, we all did." She said as she glanced behind her. "Don't let Claude said before get you down in the dumps. He has his reasons."

"And I have mine. I feel like I'm missing the big picture of something."

"The whole point of having them erased was to protect you. But it seems like you're right back where you started. Back in the middle of trouble."

Trouble. Or was vampire the word she was looking for?

We were coming up towards the street that led to the house. I wondered how long they were planning on following me. Right to my front door?

To keep the silence from becoming awkward, I asked Kat, "So, how long are you guys in town for?"

"I'm not really sure on that. Maybe a few more weeks? It's hard to say."

Both Rocco and Tripp snickered. "We all know it's gonna be much _longer_ than that, Kat. Few months, tops." Rocco said.

Claude glowered at the three of them. "It won't take us that long, we just need to talk to my cousin and stay until the trouble subsides and then we'll be on our merry way."

Rocco and Tripp rolled their eyes in unison. " _Right_ ," Tripp's voice dripped in sarcasm.

I held in a laugh, enjoying the banter between the boys. Kat looked as if she were enjoying the show as well.

This seemed… familiar. My smile dropped. Of course it would be familiar. I was once friends with them all. But now…

We weren't.

A sudden sadness took form in my stomach. From missing a connection I couldn't even remember having.

We reached the driveway of the house. "Looks like this is my stop."

"We safely delivered the princess to her home," Claude announced to no one in particular.

"More like followed her safely home." Rocco mock whispered.

Unlocking the front door, I turned to look at the four of them. "Well thanks for following me home. I would say nice seeing you all again, but, you know. So it was nice to meet you all. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bunch of homework that I need to do before tomorrow." I hated that my tone came out like I was a wounded puppy.

"Amber?" Kat asked. "Are you alright?"

"Never been better."

In fact I wasn't alright. I couldn't quite explain where this feeling came from. It was then that I realized I was remembering the feeling of their friendship. If that was even made any sense. But I couldn't bring myself to trust any kind of feelings when it came to Claude and the others because I didn't even have the memories to back them up.

For all I knew they could be feeding me lies.

Claude took a step forward from where they were gathered on the front lawn. "Amber..."

"Thanks again," I closed the door, catching a glimpse of the misery in Kat's and Claude's expressions.

I backed away into the safety of my room, hoping they would leave soon. I slithered out of my clothes and into some comfy shorts and a tank top. I yanked open my backpack, forcing myself to focus on the homework I needed done.

Two hours or so later, I heard the doorbell ring. Glancing at the clock, I knew it was Raven. She ran excitedly into the kitchen. "I'm so glad school is over! Oh, and a certain Pizza Boy was looking for you." She wiggled her eyebrows at me.

"Heath? Why was he looking for me?

"I think he said it had to do with homework. I hope you don't mind, but I kind of..," she paused, "gave him your number..."

"Raven!"

"Well he needed to get ahold of you, and it's not like he doesn't know where you live already."

"Point taken." Thinking about it a little more, I didn't mind her giving Heath my number. I mean if he asked me I would have given it to him myself, considering we shared some classes. "I don't mind all that much. Although, are you sure you gave it to him strictly because it was homework related or did you have another motive?"

She opened her eyes and slapped on her hand on her chest. "Are you saying that my good deed was actually an ulterior motive of getting you two closer?" She asked, feigning being offended. "I would never think to do such a thing!"

I laughed, forgetting some of my earlier sadness for a moment. "I would never think you had such ill intentions, my dear cousin. I believe you!"

She gave a small giggle and eyed my outfit. "Going to bed early?"

"No, I just had a little date with some homework."

Raven laughed. I followed her into my room and she flopped down onto the bed. "So…"

I grabbed onto one of my stuffed bats and flopped down next to her. "So…" We sat in silence. My mind was still occupied with thoughts of Claude. Perhaps it was time to share with what I know with Raven. To gain some insight onto the situation.

Taking a huge gulp of air, "So, about Claude," I quickly told her the supposed story of how we met, my relationships with his friends, and why my memories were erased. I finished explaining with, "He says he's here to warn Alexander that someone who wants revenge with the Sterling's is coming. I found that out this morning when they came into the coffee shop. He said that person was also the reason why my memories had to be erased. But I couldn't get anything else out of him."

Catching my breath, I peeked over at Raven, expecting her to be angry with me for not telling her sooner about what my relationship was with Claude was in the past. But she was just staring in front of her, thinking.

"Someone wanting revenge with the Sterling's," she repeated. "But that could be anyone!"

"Not anyone." She gave me a curious look. "Well it would have to be another vampire right? How many vampires do you know?"

She groaned. "A few actually."

I leaned over to look at the clock. We still had a few hours before sunset until we could see Alexander. "I wish I had my memories. I could possibly tell you who it is. But Claude's not willing to give them back."

"There has to be more to the story if he's not willing to share. He still can't be trusted. What if he's telling you only what you want to hear?"

"That's what I thought," I cuddled my stuffed bat closer to my chest. "Kat told me that there was an incident before the whole mind wipe thing. I wonder what exactly kind of incident it was."

"I doubt she would tell us."

"When I asked about it, she did seemed like she was about to say something about it. Then Claude warned her not to say anything else."

Raven thought for a moment. "Do you think she would tell you if you were to get her alone? That way Claude wouldn't be able to stop her if she mentions any crucial information."

"It's a possibility. But there's also a possibility that she could lie straight to my face and I wouldn't be able to tell if it's true or not. She seemed genuine enough, but I don't think I could bring myself to trust her fully."

"Any information about what happened in the past would be helpful, even if it's a lie or not. Sometimes when people lie, but you can always find a hint of truth to it."

I nodded, knowing she was right. Anything was helpful if I wanted to learn more about my past. But am I ready to handle the truth? What if Claude told the truth about me being the one to ask for them to be erased? What if the incident was so traumatizing, that it would have been better just to forget everything?

My head swirled. A sudden thought occurred to me. "Raven... whoever wants revenge on the Sterling's is most likely a vampire right? Well, that same vampire wanted me dead. What if that vampire is the same one who attacked me a few nights ago? What if they're already here?"

Raven sat back. "I don't think it's the same vampire. Claude would have recognized him, right? And you mentioned that Claude wanted to warn Alexander that they're coming. So that would mean that whoever it is hasn't arrived yet." Raven looked at her phone and sighed. "We still have a bit until sunset. We need to tell Alexander all of this as soon as he wakes up."

"I agree." Then the vampire that attacked me was just some random occurrence? If so, do we have another vampire to deal with?

There was nothing that we could do until it was time to head to Alexander's. I suggested to Raven that we could watch a movie in the meantime. But she was too preoccupied with her thoughts so I just went ahead and finished some homework. After a while she asked for some pens and paper. I glanced over at one point to see that she was scribbling down some names. On top of the page, in big letters, was titled "Suspects". I was tempted to ask her who were all of the names and their backgrounds, but Raven was concentrating really hard on the list.

Heath called some time later. He wanted to make plans to hang out after school sometime this week. He wanted to show me some of the sights in town. And then go over some notes for Calculus. Considering he had fallen asleep in the class earlier this morning, I'm guessing he's going to need all of the notes before the upcoming test. We made plans for tomorrow after lunch, since he also has a four classes like me.

"Get ready for the adventure of your life tomorrow, because it's going to be awesome." Heath said excitedly, hanging up the phone.

Smiling, I set my phone down. Raven must have been listening, because when I looked up, she was wiggling her eyebrows and giving me a toothy grin.

"What?"

"Are my ears working properly? Because I think Heath just asked you on a date and you said yes."

"It's not a date. He's just going to show me some sights and then we're going to study. _Calculus_. Trust me, it's not a date. If it were, we wouldn't be studying Calculus."

"True. Okay, listen up Severson. Tomorrow may not be a date, but I can guarantee one will be happening between the two of you in the near future."

"Or not."

"It's gonna happen. I can feel it."

"I think that's the sandwich from earlier talking."

"Also possible."

"Anyways, how's the suspect list going?"

Raven help up the piece of paper. "It's going. I wrote down as many vampires I could remember and crossed off the ones who wouldn't have beef with the Sterlings. And the ones who I know had reasons to hate the Sterlings have been resolved, and crossed those off as well. I ended up crossing off every name on the list!"

"Then maybe you've never met them?"

"Maybe. But then who else would it be?"

"Let's ask Alexander. We have a half hour before sunset. We should get going soon."

I took another piece of paper and quickly scrawled a note to Dad, explaining that I was heading over to Alexander's with Raven and will be home before curfew. Sticking it to the fridge so that he would see it as soon as he came home, I grabbed my keys.

Since there was some daylight, we decided that it would be safe enough to cut through the cemetery without any vampires popping out behind any graves.

We made it to the mansion in no time at all. Jameson greeted us and directed us into the parlor. Minutes later he served us goblets of juice and said that Alexander would be down momentarily.

Raven and I were discussing suspects when Alexander entered the parlor.

He smiled at us sleepily and grabbed for the goblet that Jameson held out to him. He drank it slowly as he came over to where Raven sat. He finished his drink and kissed her lightly on the forehead, holding on to her close. His focused shifted to me and he smiled. "Hey Amber. How are you?"

"Well to be honest, I could be better. But for now I'm alright. Did you sleep well?"

"I did, thanks. I'm guessing you're not here just to socialize?"

"I'm afraid not. Trust me, I wish I was."

Raven hugged Alexander closer to her. "Amber has some information about why Claude and the others are here. And for once, it doesn't seem like they're here to cause trouble. Just that they're here to warn you of the trouble that's coming."

Alexander pulled away from Raven's embraced, but still held on to her hand. "What trouble?"

Raven and I told him all of the information that we had, as well as the speculations that we shared. Alexander listened to us and waited to speak until after we were both finished. "So another vampire is coming to town? And for revenge? But there isn't anyone I know of that fits the criteria. Not anymore at least."

Raven pulled out her suspect list and gave it to Alexander. "I came to the same conclusion too. I made a list of every vampire I knew of. And crossed all the names off because none of them had any reason to come after you."

Alexander looked over the page and agreed with Raven. "Like you said, there's no reason for any of them to come knocking on my door after all this time." He gave the list back to Raven, shaking his head. "I have no idea who it would be. When did Claude say he was going to meet with me?" He asked me.

Thinking back to my earlier conversation with Claude and the others, I realized he didn't say. "He didn't mention a specific time frame, although he did say he and the others would stay until the trouble subsides."

"Maybe I should go talk to him myself then. I need to be prepared for whatever's coming our way in order to protect the both of you."

I wanted to tell Alexander I could protect myself, but remembering that I was almost lunch awhile back made me bite my tongue.

"We'll go with you," Raven said.

"I don't to put either of you in harm's way. I'll go talk to my cousin, _alone_ ," he emphasized, looking directly at Raven. "But it will have to wait until tomorrow. I know I said to stay away from them, but since they came to you, just tread carefully around them. They might not be deliberately following you, but be careful regardless. Try not to be alone around them either. You two should stick together after school too."

"We will. Starting to the day after tomorrow. I was able to make plans with Becky finally. And Amber has a non-date date with a guy from school."

"A date?" Alexander asked.

"It's not a date. It's more like a tour and a study session. With a friend," I explained in exasperation.

"Then the day after tomorrow it is," he relented. "I would say have fun on your date, but since it's not a date, then have fun studying."

"I will, thanks." I could tell he was also teasing like Raven was earlier. It made me happy to be able to experience these emotions again with people I could call 'friend'.

We talked about unrelated events for the rest of the night. When it was time for me to go home however, Alexander offered (although it was more like demanded, since he wouldn't take no for an answer) to drive me home. Alexander waited until I unlocked the door, before he drove off with Raven, most likely back to the mansion.

Dad was in the living room, watching an action movie. He brought home some Chinese food, so I was able to enjoy some fried noodles before going to bed.

As I laid in my bed, I thought about the events to come. With my non-date with Heath, Alexander encountering Claude, and somehow getting Kat alone to pry some information out of her. Not to mention that I would eventually meet _her_ soon, one thing I absolutely had no intention of enjoying.

I really didn't want to meet her, I had no reason to. We were abandoned for a reason. But if it will make Dad happy, then I'll endure it for his sake. Sooner or later though, we'll meet.

I was finally drifting off to sleep when I heard my phone go off. There's a new message from Raven.

"I know Alexander said to leave it to him, but I think we should follow him tomorrow night when he goes to talk to Claude. I trust Alexander, but he may leave out some details since he doesn't want us in any danger. You in?"

Surprisingly, I didn't think twice about it before I replied with, "I'm in."

It wasn't long before she replied back with, "Let's meet up at my house an hour and a half before sunset. Wear the darkest, stealthiest clothes you can find. We'll be stalking a couple of vampires' tomorrow night."

Heath was right when he said tomorrow's going to be the adventure of my life.

Although, I don't think he counted on vampires' being a part of it.

Either way, tomorrow was sure to be interesting.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Stalking Some Vamps

The next day, walking into the cafeteria seemed like a nightmare. And not the good kind. Tables were overcrowded and the smell of stale water hung heavily in the air. Heath and I were going to head out after having a bit of lunch, but seeing as how there was no sign of Heath, I would have to wait for him.

Raven and I stood in line, looking at the hot, fresh greasy slices of pizza. I took the safe route and grabbed for a salad, while Raven went ahead and risked the pizza.

It would seem that we lucked out, seeing an open table towards the back of the room. A small group of girls were also aiming for the same table, but we managed to get there first.

I heard one of the girls mutter, "Freaks."

"Can't you come up with anything better than that?" Raven asked. "I mean there are way better words to use than 'freak'. Freak is just so unoriginal, you know?"

Suppressing a laugh, I watched as the girl scoffed, walking away with the others glaring at us.

Shrugging my shoulders, I picked at my salad. With still no sign of Heath, Raven and I discussed our plans for tonight. But we were soon interrupted by Becky and Matt.

"Hey Rave," Becky said excitedly. After a slight hesitation, she continued. "Hi Amber. I don't think you've had the chance of meeting Matt yet?

I shook my head slightly. "I haven't. Hello Matt."

Matt extended his hand, and I shook it gently. "Nice to finally get the chance to say hello."

Raven and Becky started discussing where they should go on their afternoon out, and decided that they would go hang out at Becky's farmhouse. Matt asked me questions about how I liked the town and if I was settling into the house okay. He seemed surprisingly genuine when he asked me all these questions. I thought he would have been the opposite.

There was perhaps only ten minutes left of lunch when I finally saw Heath. He rushed through the cafeteria doors, making a beeline for us. "Sorry, I'm late. I completely forgot I had a club meeting. I tried sneaking out a few times but the teacher threatened to duct tape me to a chair. Anyways, ready for an awesome adventure?"

"Always am. Did you want to grab some food before we head out?"

"Nah, that's okay. I had a pretty big breakfast this morning."

"Well, in that case, let's start this baby up."

Saying our goodbyes to the trio (Raven winked at me beamingly and gave me a thumbs up when Matt wasn't looking), we left the school grounds, heading in the opposite direction of the plaza. There were random shops scattered alongside the main road. "So, what's on our first stop?"

"I figured I'd show you some places that I thought you would be interested in. For instance, there's a huge library up ahead. And there's a drive-in a couple of block from here."

"A drive-in? I didn't think those places still existed in this day and age." I said teasingly.

"It gets lots of business still. There are many special events. My favorite is the 'Halloween Horror Extravaganza', where they show the old horror classics."

"It's too bad I missed that. That sounds amazing. I would have loved to have gone. Even though I most likely have all of the movies they showed on DVD."

"Are you a big movie fanatic?" Heath asked.

"Huge." I went on and told him about the massive collection at home, and he said we should have a horror movie marathon sometime.

We passed by the library, and I made a mental note to check it out in my spare time. Since the drive-in was closed during the weekdays, Heath promised he would take me to one of the showings on his next day off. Still, we walked by the lot and I became instantly mesmerized. I would definitely tell Dad about it, since there weren't any where we lived in California.

Our next stop was the park next to City Hall. A field of various shades of green stretched out quite a ways before us. There was a massive playground structure in the center, with a swing set. Since the park was empty, Heath suggested that we'd sit in the field, and bask in the sun for a little bit.

The warmth of the sun felt nice on my skin. It reminded me on how I would lay out in my backyard at my old home for hours, causing some serious sunburns at times. It feels like it's been ages since then, even though it's been nearly a month since we sold the house and moved here.

Heath seemed like he was also enjoying the warmth of the sun. He had his eyes closed, a small smile on his lips.

He opened his eyes, catching me staring at him, his smile widening. "I know I'm hot, but I didn't expect you to be checking me out so openly."

"I wasn't checking you out. I was staring." We both laughed.

The sound of a phone went off. Heath patted around in his bag and cursed when he saw the caller ID. "Sorry, I gotta take this," he told me and answered his phone. As soon as he greeted whoever was on the line, I could hear a loud female voice. She seemed upset over something, her voice kept rising. It was when he addressed her, I realized it was his mother. He tried to calm her down, but it seemed to only upset her more. He told her that he would be home soon, he was only a short distance from the house.

He hung up, silently cursing to himself.

"Is everything alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's just that something came up at home. I hope you don't mind taking a raincheck? I had plans on taking you to a few more places, like the movie theater and the abandoned warehouse."

"An abandoned warehouse?"

"It's just a little farther up this road, two miles or so. There's so many spooky stories and urban legends surrounding that place, I thought it would be the perfect place to take you."

"Were you secretly planning on murdering me Heath?"

"Aw, man, what gave it away?" He said playfully. Gathering up his things, he stood up, offering me his hand. "Sorry for ditching you so early. I'll make it up to you."

Taking his hand, I stood up as well. "You can start by meeting me early at school tomorrow. I need a study partner for Calculus. What do you say?

"You got a deal. I'll bring the donuts."

"Deal."

Heath checked his phone, once again cursing softly. "Sorry, I really have to go now, before my mom gets angry. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow."

He waved at me goodbye, hurrying down the street before I even realized it. Then he was gone. I had the urge to ask him about his mom, but I didn't want to seem intrusive. It was probably nothing, but it didn't quench the feeling inside that something felt off.

Checking the time, I realized we were only together for an hour or so since lunch. Figuring I had more than enough time, I thought it would be the best time to break in the new kitchen by making a homemade meal.

First stop, grocery store.

Later that day, I had a pot simmering of fettucine noodles, Alfredo sauce, and chicken. Already letting Dad know that there would be a nice meal when he came home so that he wouldn't pick up food, I turned the stove off and went over the list of supplies that Raven had sent that morning.

Let's see. She asked me if I could bring some minced garlic sealed in a Tupperware bowl, a spray bottle, and a small LED flashlight. Gathering the items, I briefly wondered about the garlic and the spray bottle but figuring that Raven had some type of plan, I didn't think of it too much.

Since we needed to be stealthy as possible as to not be seen by Alexander, or any other vampire for that matter, I needed to pick out some clothes. Walking to my closet, I stared into the abyss of dark clothing. Deciding on a simple black hoodie and some black pants, there was the only matter of shoes. There was a nice selection of short boots, flats, heels, and wedges. All of them wrong for the occasion. I had a nice pair of combat boots, but they were too clumpy. Digging deeper into the closet, I found a pair of workout shoes. They would have to do.

I quickly changed my clothes and donned on the pair of shoes. Checking myself in the mirror, I was stealthy enough. Except for my hair. Taking a hair tie, I just tied it up into a high ponytail. Now I was ready.

Collecting the supplies, I stuffed them in my back pack and made my way over towards Raven's.

She had arrived when I did, and helped her come up with an outfit that was less conspicuous than what she was currently wearing. In the end, she wore an outfit similar to mine. She asked if I brought the items on the list. After bringing them to her, I watched as she poured the minced garlic into the spray bottle, creating a garlic spray. A vampire repellent, she called it. She advised me not to use it anywhere near Alexander, as it could be deadly. She wasn't sure how Claude and the others would react, but knew it wouldn't be as severe as Alexander's allergy. I felt uneasy as she handed the spray bottle back to me, and began to mix her own. Surely it wouldn't come to that. If anything, I would only use it if the vampire from before decided to attack either of us. Or anything else that crossed our paths.

We grabbed anything else that could be useful during our spy operation, and made our way over to the mansion. We safely found a hiding spot by the overgrown bushes near the mansion gates. I had asked if she had any idea on where Alexander would be meeting up with the half vamps. She didn't have any clue, as Alexander didn't tell her much about the plans. Raven admitted that she went to the cemetery, looking for their coffins. But they had chosen another place to crash this time around.

The coffin part both intrigued and frightened me. They slept in coffins. Then again, what was I expecting? That they would be sleeping in normal beds at a hotel? I pushed that little bit of information towards the back of my brain as it began to grow dark. We watched as the attic light turned on and we could see Alexander's silhouette walking by the window. A few moments had passed before the light went out. Raven signaled to keep quiet and hide into the shadows. We were pressed together in the bushes, steering clear of being in direct sight of the mansion doors.

We heard the mansion doors open and close, a figure standing briefly on the steps. The figure headed towards the car in the driveway, and then we heard the car start. We waited, holding onto our breaths as the car swept pass us and down the street. Making sure it was clear, Raven headed down the street, following after the car at a steady pace. I followed after her.

The car went down several roads, driving by the plaza, Hasty's, and pass the high school. We were passing City Hall when the car came to a sudden stop. We quickly hid ourselves in a nearby alley, pressing hard against the bricks. Soon, we heard the car continue driving down the road, tires squealing against the pavement.

"Do you think he spotted us?" I asked Raven.

She shrugged. "I don't think he did, otherwise he would've called out to us."

\

"Then shouldn't we hurry?"

"We don't have to follow as closely. I think I know where he's headed to. There's an abandoned warehouse just up the road. It's a perfect hideout for them. Nice and quiet, and as dark as it can be to hide a bunch of coffins."

Maybe it was a good thing that Heath didn't take me there earlier. I don't know what would have happened if we found four coffins in such an abandoned place. Probably would have scared us both and caused a scene.

We trailed after the car, but not as closely as before. Now that we knew where Alexander was headed, we took a shortcut through the trees to get there faster. Keeping a grip onto the garlic repellent in case we came upon any lurking, psychotic vampires in the dark, we soon came in view of the warehouse.

You could tell right away that it was abandoned. The dark green paint was chipped off in large amounts as well as the gate crumpled apart. You could also tell lots of kids trespassed by the many wrappers and trash outside. It probably suffered a few underground parties in its past.

We came to a good hiding spot just inside the property, behind an old tractor. We watched for any approaching cars and listened for any activity within the warehouse. All that greeted us was silence. I thought that perhaps Raven had got the meeting place wrong when the side door of the warehouse banged open. Raven and I both jumped, but somehow managed to keep from screaming out. Rocco and Tripp appeared, having to see the approaching headlights of Alexander's car from a great distance away.

A few minutes passed, and we saw the headlights roll across the lot, just stopping a mere inches from our hiding spot. Alexander walked out of the car and came to meet the boys. They shared a few words with one another before Rocco and Tripp escorted Alexander into the warehouse.

As soon as the door banged shut behind them, we ran to the door as quietly as we could, counting to ten before easing the door open just barely enough to fit us through and made sure that the door closed softly behind us.

First thing I noticed was how dark it was. Second thing I noticed that it was equally as quiet, I could hear the sound of my own pulse raging against my chest. It took us a few moments for our eyes to adjust to the dark. We could see the upper levels dimmed lighting. Raven grabbed my hand and together we maneuvered around the junk that littered the floor. We came to the foot of the steps where we could hear murmuring. We climbed up as far as we could go before it would have alerted them of our presence. We could hear them just a bit more clearly.

"Cousin," Claude's voice rang out in greeting. "I thought that perhaps our next encounter would be on more pleasant terms, but I'm afraid not. Look, we aren't here to play mind games or have any ulterior motives. This time it's business."

"Then cut to the chase, Claude. I need to know everything that happened in order to protect Raven and Amber. I need to know what we're going to be up against."

"You just need to worry about yourself and your girlfriend. Amber should be safe as long as she doesn't know about us. She was in too much danger when she knew, that's why I erased her memories of us. I didn't do it because I wanted to be cruel. I did it to protect her. If she gains even the slightest knowledge of what we are, then she's in the middle of everything again. She could start regaining fragments of her memories which could cause her to go insane."

"Give them back to her then."

"Don't you get it?" Claude's voice rising voice echoed throughout the warehouse. "That would bring back traumatizing events for her. And I mean traumatizing. He tried to kill her. Even worse, he tortured her for days. If I didn't find her when I did, it would have been too late. And I don't want her to go through that again, Cousin. She can't go through that again."

"Look, Claude, I know it must have been hard to do that. But I believe she's in even more danger now. She was attacked in the middle of the night, on sacred ground. I don't believe it was a coincidence now that I'm gaining more insight of her past. I think it had to do with whoever was trying to kill her. Who knows, maybe they're already here, lurking in the shadows waiting for the perfect opportunity to pounce. So tell me what I need to know in order to protect them both."

Claude must have been too angry to talk because it took a few moments before we heard Kat answering him. "I'm sure you can recall a certain vampire by the name of Jagger Maxwell."

Beside me, I heard Raven take a sharp breath. Seeing her reaction, I sensed she knew who he was. I wanted to ask her about it, but I knew that I would give away our position, so I bit my lip and continued listening.

"Jagger is the one doing this? But we have a truce. We haven't seen him in over a year, so there would be no reason for him to come after us after all this time. He and his family are back in Romania."

"Jagger's siblings went back to Romania, but he stayed behind. He was working in an underground club in California, catered towards the vampire community. We ran into him there and we were friendly towards one another. Jagger still hated you for the pain you caused his sister. But he didn't have any plans for revenge. He still doesn't. But a close friend of his does. He's the one who's coming after the Sterling family. He is also the one responsible for trying to kill Amber."

Alexander said, confused, "Do I know who he are?"

Claude spoke. "No. His name is Caleb Briggs. He's from London. The only reason he's after you is for Jagger's sake. After what happened with Amber, Jagger casted him out. Caleb thinks the only way of regaining Jagger's friendship is to go after you."

I tried racking my brain for any familiarity in that name, but I couldn't recall anything remotely helpful.

"Was he the one that attacked Amber a few nights ago?"

"I don't know. It was too dark. I don't have night vision like some people."

"Why did he go after Amber? What caused him to want her dead?"

The room above us went silent. I wish I had a pair of eyes in the room, to see Claude's expression. I knew it was a sad expression, since whenever he saw me, he gave me such sorrowful eyes, and it hurt.

"Why don't we give you two some space?" Tripp said, somewhere near the steps.

But Claude answered, ignoring Tripp. "The details don't matter. As long as she doesn't know about our species, she's should be safe. Caleb has no reason of going after her." He paused. "Unless the reason you keep asking is because she knows something?"

"Look the only reason I told her was to stay clear of you guys. I didn't know why you were in town. I thought it would be safer for her if she knew the truth."

In the next instant we Claude roar, and Rocco and Tripp rushing over to him, yelling at each other to hold him back.

"What did you tell her?" Claude yelled.

"The truth," Alexander said calmly.

"Get off of me!" Claude roared again. "What exactly did you tell her?"

"About us. That we are vampires."

This time, I don't think Rocco or Tripp could have held him back. Because we heard them topple against the floor as Claude came after Alexander. But Rocco and Tripp were fast, as we heard them tackle Claude from behind, Claude howling at them to get off.

"I think it's time for you to go. After this, I'm sure Claude will be out for your blood. We'll try to calm him down, but you need to go. Watch your back, Sterling." Kat advised.

"Right. I really didn't mean to do any harm."

"I know."

With that, Alexander rushed down the stairs, which didn't give us enough time to make our escape. He collided with us, giving us both a disapproving look. He didn't say anything as he turned us around, rushing us out the door.

He unlocked the car, told us both to get in. Raven hurried to the passenger's side while I took the seat behind her. Behind us the side door banged open once again, and I looked back. Claude came into view, rushing over to the car, a murderous look on his face.

Something made him glanced over in my direction and it was then that he noticed me, stopping him in his tracks. The murderous look fell away and in its place was pure shock. We stared at each other.

I tore my eyes away from his as Alexander put the car in drive, speeding away from the abandoned warehouse. I took another glance behind me.

Claude was gone.


End file.
